portland recommendos?
Ultimate Portland (v0.1)Do:-Visit the Columbia River Gorge. ~30 miles east of PDX: Multnomah Falls, Wahkeena Falls, and
Oneonta Gorge (wade).
-Take windsurfing lesson at Hood River (1 hr east of PDX) or The Dalles. Effing windy there, broseph!
-Fish for salmon/sturgeon on the Columbia or go crabbing on the coast (Newport/Garibaldi). Or so I hear.
-Walk along Cannon Beach 75 mins W. Of PDX (big rocks just off the coast). Bring your camera. Just don't swim (too cold).
-Hike the coast range. Saddle Mountain (great 2-3 hr hike) about 10 miles east of the coast (near Cannon Beach).
-Hike in the city: Leif Erikson trail in Forest Park - tame but foresty hike in city limits (just west of downtown in Forest Park).
-Walk around Nob Hill (NW PDX). Great restaurants, Victorian houses, people watching. Near soccer stadium. Gelato district. Sadly, high yuppie coefficient (un-Portland).
-Go to a Timbers match. Have never been, but it sounds like best regularly scheduled soccer experience you can get in US.
-Red wine: Surprisingly pretty much world-class in
Willamette Valley (pinot noir is the best). Personal fave:
Montinore Estate south of Forest Grove.
-Sake: Organic sake brewery
Sake One / Momokawa is just south of Forest Grove (combine w/ winery trip). Was once the only USDA-certified organic sake brewery in US. Legit.
-Great restaurants in wine country (McMinnville, 45 mins S):
La Rambla (tapas) is fantastic - recommended. Haven't been to these, but Nick's Italian Cafe, Bistro Maison, and...if you're an adventurous foodie (think offal)...Thistle are all supposed to be great too.
-Get espresso at a rural gas station...because this is Oregon and you effing CAN get decent espresso at rural gas stations.
-Visit Mt. Hood or St. Helen's. One has a peak, a sweet WPA-era lodge, and year-round skiing. The other doesn't. Both mountains. Do whatcha WANNA.
-International rose test garden (Washington Park, just next to downtown/Forest Park) in June/July. Japanese garden while you're at it because you're EMAW and you appreciate that crap.
-Powell's bookstore. Huge.
Do (food):-Restaurants in general: Yelp will guide you. Main risk is going to wildly popular place.
-Beer: GMAFB. Where CAN'T you drink great beer in Portland?
-Elite foodie experience:
Natural Selection in NE. Vegetarian/vegan food. Open kitchen. Stylish place, but dress as you please (you're EMAW, so it's not like you'd wear shorts or a basketball jersey or something). Prepare to enjoy the crap out of it - even if you can't picture yourself enjoying vegetarian food. Don't go if unwilling to pay $40-60 per person for prix fixe menu or if you are the type of person who complains about being hungry after not eating 1800 calories. Would not go alone (very awkward; tight tables).
-Indian food (actually solid): Tao of Tea on Hawthorne (cheap but awesome street food and tea (obviously) in a Portlandy environment); Chennai Masala in Hillsboro for great south Indian (dosas, idlii, etc.); Swagat in Hillsboro for epic Hyderabadi chicken/goat/lamb biriyani. If you are white and do yoga and like being in a place that feels really "Indian" (and rubbing shoulders with other white people who do yoga), you would probably love Bollywood Cafe on Alberta. Then again, you would probably love Portland in general.
-Ice cream: Salt & Straw. Way too popular (20-min wait), but I'll be damned if their ice cream isn't worth the wait.
-Korean food: hole-in-the-wall mom and pop noodle shop Du Kuh Bee in Beaverton if you're not Korean (noodles, bulgogi); Nakwon next door if you are.
-Bakery: Petit Provence on Thurman. Amazing. Head guy/proprietor won the best-baker-in-France award or something. Pastries and coffee or GTFO.
-Authentic Polish food:
Grandpa's cafe. Not only is the food great, but they hilariously require all patrons to be members of the Polish Library Building Association. Fortunately you can buy a 1-day membership for just $1. Not making this up.
-Pizza: Ken's Artisan (SE)
-Vegasy/occasional celebs/12th-floor rooftop happy hour/pan-asian: Departure. Saw Minnesota Timberwolf Mike Beasley there once.
-Steak/classy bar/30th-floor view: Portland City Grill
Don't:-...go to ridiculously popular restaurants that are as much social phenomena as great restaurants (Screen Door, Pok Pok, Broder, etc.). Unless it's worth it to you to tell people that you went to PDX hot spots, no idea why you'd wait in line for 2 hours for brunch (PDX loves brunch), fried chicken, or Thai street food. You can't throw a rock without hitting an affordable yet delicioso restaurant here. Yelp.
-...wait in line at Voodoo Donuts...unless you like to chill with dumb/smelly locals and boatloads of lemming tourists to pay homage to a wildly/inexplicably successful filthy/gross donut shop that sells average donuts. If you are a sociologist/psychologist, however, it's a must-see. Potential PhD dissertation material.
-...go to Stumptown coffee. Their coffee is bitter, isn't it? There are better coffeehouse experiences to be had (almost anywhere in this espresso wonderland). Spartan environs. Great hipster-watching location, though (then again, so is most of Portland). Overrated since somehow became darling of NYC coffee scene a few years ago.
-...eat barbecue. This is probably obvious, but just don't. Not Portland's strength.
-...expect great food at a McMenamin's brewpub. McMenamin's (many locations - best are Cornelis Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro and Grand Lodge (with disc golf!) In Forest Grove) is all about beer or whiskey and sunshine (and maybe music). Having said that, the cajun tots are excellent.
-...go on an official walking tour. If you want to hear people make crap up or talk about how amazingly unique and wonderful their city is, talk to the homeless people or shoppers, respectively, at the Portland Saturday market FOR FREE.
Enjoy.
